Economy
Fidelity Bank Faces Bankruptcy As Court Orders Banking Giant To Pay N225bn Damages To Nigerian Firm
Fidelity Bank Faces Bankruptcy As Court Orders Banking Giant To Pay N225bn Damages To Nigerian Firm
Fidelity Bank faces bankruptcy as Court orders banking giant to pay N225bn damages to Nigerian firm. The bank is in talks with Sagecom to hammer out a repayment plan, but the urgency stipulated in the ruling could hamper its ability to spread out the liability without going under.
Fidelity Bank is scrambling to stave off a looming insolvency after a Supreme Court panel found the top lender liable in a years-long tort dispute with a little-known general services venture operating out of Ibadan, Peoples Gazette heard from people familiar with the situation.
The Lagos-based banking group has opened talks with lawyers representing Sagecom Concept Ltd to hammer out a repayment plan, but The Gazette understands that the urgency stipulated in the judgement could hamper the bank’s ability to spread out the N225 billion liability without going under.
“To be honest, this is the biggest crisis the bank has ever faced,” a top management official told The Gazette via video conference over the weekend. “The obligation is simply too big.”
“If the bank is miraculously spared, we would have the altruism of the small business that got this unprecedented judgement to appreciate,” the C-suite official added with precise candour under anonymity to discuss a development that has rattled the entire management.
The company’s stock closed at N20.80 per share on Friday. Overall, it’s up nearly 140 per cent this year. Whereas the bank declared N385 billion in profit before tax at the end of 2024, officials said it was largely driven by interests from loans that had since been rolled over, saying they were not uncertain about the inability of its balance sheet to absorb the massive judgement. No other institutions that could underwrite the damages have been identified as of Monday morning, the people added.
A person familiar with banking regulations said the Central Bank of Nigeria might ultimately intervene rather than oversee the collapse of a top-tier commercial lender during a fragile economic environment.
A bank spokesman declined to comment on the development. The bank’s lawyers in the matter, including senior practitioners Kanu Agabi and Onyechi Ikpeazu, did not return requests for comments.
The April 11, 2025, unanimous decision of five justices who heard the matter stemmed from a pair of loans obtained by engineering giant G. Cappa Plc from FSB International Bank in the early 2000s. The loans, recorded as $3 million and N100 million at the time, were executed before Fidelity Bank bought FSB International and its liabilities as part of the banking sector consolidation in 2005.
The cumulative facility was issued at prohibitive interest per annum, and Fidelity began seizing G. Cappa’s assets in Ikoyi and Ibadan that had been used to secure the deal when the company allegedly defaulted in 2005. G. Cappa sued at the time, and a federal judge in Lagos ordered Fidelity to desist from its aggressive depletion of G. Cappa’s assets, court documents said.
But Fidelity’s management failed to obey the court order, and instead listed the assets for sale to potential buyers, including Sagecom. Court documents said Sagecom, run by Bamidele Ogunkanmi and U.S.-based Nigerian Dakore Miriki, paid N350 million to buy some of the properties from Fidelity Bank, but the company quickly sought to recoup its payment after seeing a January 2006 disclaimer that said a court order had enjoined Fidelity from selling G. Cappa’s assets.
Lagos high court, CEO Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe
The matter was later remanded to the Lagos State High Court. After several years of litigation, during which the bank lost repeatedly, including at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, the dispute wound up at the Supreme Court in 2018, leading to the final judgement last month.
“Apart from the mountain of evidence against it, allowing the appellant to escape liability as it so desperately seeks to do here would be tantamount to allowing it to benefit from its own wrong,” the Supreme Court said in its lead opinion by Justice Adamu Jauro. “The notorious principle of equity that a court ought not to allow a person to take advantage of his own wrong still remains part of our jurisprudence.”
The Gazette exclusively obtained the Supreme Court judgement, which had not been previously reported, after being informed that Fidelity Bank’s management was holding unusually long and frequent meetings lately.
Sagecom, represented by Muiz Banire and Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, successfully argued throughout the case that it suffered damages through Fidelity’s action because it borrowed the N350 million from FMCB to secure the troubled assets from Fidelity, enduring 19.5 per cent annual interest.
Fidelity lawyers argued that the bank was not responsible for the damages and blamed G. Cappa for collecting rents on the Lagos assets following the initial court injunction. But the Supreme Court justices said Fidelity must pay for its apparent decision to disregard a live injunctive relief from a federal court.
“At the heart of the matter lies the appellant’s somewhat egregious conduct in selling a property it knew was subject to a restraining court order,” the court said, adding that Fidelity deprived Sagecom of “the possession and the economic benefits of its purchase for many years.”
The justices were unsparing as to Fidelity management’s conduct at the early stages of the dispute, repeatedly stating throughout the judgement that the bank admitted that it received notice of the injunction that blocked it from selling G. Cappa’s assets but proceeded anyway.
Fidelity Bank Faces Bankruptcy
“This was not mere negligence but a deliberate disregard for both the court’s authority (with the intention to undermine it) and the first respondent’s rights as an innocent purchaser,” Justice Jummai Hannatu Sankey said in her concurring opinion. “The law remains that parties to a suit must obey court orders whether or not they are correct.” The three other justices on the panel were Mohammed Lawal Garba, Moore Aseimo Ibrahim Adumein and Abubakar Saqid Umar.
The justices also said that one way Fidelity might have prevailed in its appeal was if the bank had argued that there had been a perversion or miscarriage of justice in the lower courts.
“The appellant has failed to demonstrate any perversity in the findings of the lower courts or any miscarriage of justice warranting this court’s intervention,” the court added.
Consequently, the Supreme Court upheld the damages as calculated by the Lagos high court and imposed against Fidelity in a June 20, 2011, judgement, which Fidelity appealed. The Lagos judge, whom the Supreme Court lauded for doing a good job on the case, had ordered Fidelity to pay accrued earnings for several flats over many years Sagecom was unable to take possession of the assets.
Following the Supreme Court judgement, Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos State High Court calculated damages due to Sagecom, finding that as of May 16, 2025, Fidelity Bank owed the firm $139,064,896.18. The court put the naira value at N225,285,131,812.38, using N1620 per dollar as of the close of business on May 15, 2025.
Officials said Fidelity planned to argue the calculation during a court hearing before Mrs Akinlade, scheduled for May 19 at 9:00 a.m. However, sources familiar with the matter said it was unlikely the calculation would change.
Mrs Akinlade, however, noted in a worksheet seen by The Gazette that “naira equivalent to be determined using the official exchange rate on the date of actual payment.”
Representatives for G. Cappa and Sagecom could not be reached for comments.
Fidelity Bank, led by its first female CEO Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has consistently ranked among the biggest banks in Nigeria, often placed at number six for its massive asset base. Today’s opposition leader Peter Obi ran the bank in the early oughts, leaving as chairman to seek office as Anambra governor in 2003.
It has for years courted public dread as one of the financial institutions notorious for draconian loan practices, and a Lagos family recently blamed the bank’s management for the death of a real estate investor following a prolonged facility dispute.
The bank has maintained no wrongdoing, often blaming the central bank and other regulators for imposing virtually all loan conditions on commercial lenders nationwide. A CBN spokeswoman did not immediately return a request seeking comment.
EFCC Arraigns Former SKye Bank Chairman, Tunde Ayeni For N15.6b Fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, May 4, 2026, arraigned a former Chairman, Board of Directors of the defunct Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni before Justice Jude Onwuzuruike of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Apo, Abuja.
Ayeni was arraigned on a 17-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and conversion of investors’ funds to the tune N15,665,085,429 (Fifteen Billion, Six hundred and Sixty five Million, Eighty five thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty-nine Naira (N15,665,085,429).
Prosecution counsel E.E. Iheanacho, SAN, informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment and prosecution ready for trial.
“We have before the court 17-count charge dated April 28, 2026, we humbly apply that the charge be read to the defendant”, he said.
Eereporter.com
Count three of the charge reads: “That you, Tunde Ayeni, whilst being the Chairman, Board of Directors of the defunct Skye Bank Plc between 21st of October, 2014 and 19th November, 2014 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court and having dominion over depositors funds domiciled in the defunct Skye bank Plc’s Suspense Account, committed criminal breach of trust when you dishonestly misappropriated the aggregate sum of Three billion, Two hundred and One million, Five Hundred and Thirty Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty Nine Naira, Forty two kobo(N3,201,535,429.42) by transferring same to Misa Limited’s account No: 1011295717 and 1011295718 domiciled with Zenith Bank in Violation of the Prudential Guidelines and other regulations and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 312 of the same Act.
Count five of the charge reads: “That you Tunde Ayeni, whilst being the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Defunct Skye Bank Plc on or about 27th November, 2014, at Abuja within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court and having dominion over depositors’ funds domiciled in the defunct Skye bank Plc’s Suspense Account, committed criminal breach of trust when you dishonestly misappropriated the sum of Five Billion, Seventy Eight million, Five hundred and Fifty thousand Naira(N5, 078,550,000) by transferring same to Union Registrar Limited’s Account No: 0003490559 domiciled with Union Bank in violation of the Prudential Guidelines and other Regulations and thereby Committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code and Punishable under Section 312 of same Act.”
Fraud
Ayeni pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.
In view of his “not guilty” plea, Iheanacho prayed the court for a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in a Correctional Centre.
Defence counsel, Ahmed Raji Bashir, SAN, informed the court that the charge was given to the defendant on a public holiday adding that he considered it imperative to inform the court. He also prayed the court to release the defendant to him or return him to the custody of the EFCC.
Justice Onwuzuruike adjourned the matter to May 13, 2026, for hearing of the bail application, while the defendant was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending determination of bail application.
Economy
World Press Freedom Day: FG Calls For Collaboration To Address Disinformation, Misinformation
World Press Freedom Day: FG Calls For Collaboration To Address Disinformation, Misinformation
The Federal Government has called for stronger collaboration among the media, government institutions, and other stakeholders to address the growing threat of disinformation and misinformation, stressing that collective action is essential to protect public trust and national stability. The Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this known on Monday in Abuja at the 2026 World Press Freedom Day commemoration held at Radio House.
“This administration has prioritised collaboration with media stakeholders and international partners to promote responsible journalism, counter disinformation and misinformation,” said the Minister.
He described press freedom as a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution, noting that the Federal Government remains fully committed to its protection. “The Federal Government fully recognises press freedom as a fundamental right and remains committed to fostering an environment where the media can operate freely, safely, and responsibly, in accordance with democratic principles and the rule of law,” he stated.
Idris noted that the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has taken deliberate steps to strengthen transparency and access to information through sustained media engagement, implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, and investment in public communication platforms.
Eereporter.com
He further pointed to Nigeria’s partnership with UNESCO in establishing the International Media and Information Literacy Institute (IMILI) in Abuja as a key step towards building a more informed and discerning public. “This pioneering initiative reflects our commitment to strengthening media and information literacy, empowering citizens to engage with information critically, and promoting responsible communication in the digital age.”
The Minister urged journalists to uphold professionalism, fairness, and ethical standards in their work, stressing that press freedom must go hand in hand with responsibility. “The true test of press freedom lies not in our declarations, but in our actions, how safely journalists can do their work, how truthfully information is shared, and how responsibly it is consumed,” he said.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Dr. Binyerem Ukaire, described the event as a critical platform for strengthening collaboration across institutions.
“This gathering reflects our shared commitment to strengthening press freedom and fostering a more informed and inclusive society. It provides an opportunity for constructive engagement on how best to advance a media environment that is both free and responsible,” she said.
World Press Freedom Day
Ukaire emphasised the need for coordinated responses to the challenges posed by the evolving information ecosystem, particularly the spread of misinformation. “The expansion of digital platforms has introduced new complexities that require coordinated institutional responses, especially in addressing misinformation and strengthening public trust,” she noted.
She added that the Ministry remains committed to facilitating dialogue, strengthening partnerships, and promoting professionalism within the media space.
The Federal Government reiterated its commitment to working with the media, civil society, and international partners to build a resilient information system that supports democratic governance, national unity, and sustainable development.
The event was attended by the Inspector General of Police, represented by FPRO, DCP Anthony Okon Placid, mni, mnipr; the Director-General of the Department of State Services, represented by Director of Protocol M. O. Chukwuka, fsi; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Press Council, Dr Dilli Ezughah; Head of UNESCO Abuja Office, represented by the Head of Communication and Information Sector, Ms Yachat Nuhu.
Rabiu Ibrahim
Special Assistant (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation
Monday, May 4, 2026
NNPC, Chinese Firms Sign MoU Towards Restart, Expansion Of Warri, Port Harcourt Refineries
The NNPC Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese companies, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, for collaboration through a potential Technical Equity Partnership in support of the completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries.
The MoU was signed by the Group CEO, NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari; Chairman, Sanjiang Chemical Company, Guan Jianzhong and Chairman of Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, Bill Bi, in Jiaxing City, China, on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
Eereporter.com
The potential framework would cover completion of outstanding work at the two refineries, together with operating and maintaining both facilities to achieve best-in-class, sustainable performance. Planned expansion and upgrades would elevate both facilities to cleaner, more profitable product standards.
The potential collaboration also contemplates expanding the refineries’ petrochemical capacities and harnessing gas and downstream opportunities through the development of co-located, gas-based industrial hubs.
Speaking shortly after signing the dotted lines, the GCEO NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, described the MoU execution as a significant milestone, following more than six months of concerted engagement between the technical and management teams of NNPC and the two Chinese partners.
“All parties recognise mutually beneficial opportunities for the development and long-term sustainable profitability of NNPC’s refining assets in Nigeria, and the collective weight required for success,” Ojulari noted.
NNPC
The GCEO further stated that the MoU is a significant step on the journey towards identifying potential technical equity partner(s) to restart and expand NNPC’s refineries, and to explore opportunities in co-located petrochemicals and gas-based industries.
The MoU reflects the parties’ shared intent to progress discussions in good faith, with any definitive arrangements to follow in due course and subject to customary approvals.
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